Apr 15, 2020 08:00:00

What can you do with the up-and-coming DNS service 'NextDNS'?

DNS , which translates domain names such as 'gigazine.net' into IP addresses that computers can handle, is an important technology that supports the Internet. Cloud services engineer Stanislas Lange explains the function of ' NextDNS ' which is one of such DNS services.

NextDNS is my new favorite DNS service
https://angristan.xyz/2020/04/nextdns/

Mr. Lange considered using DNS services such as ' Pi-hole ' that can block advertisements at the network level, ' 1.1.1.1 ' and ' AdGuard DNS ' provided by Cloudflare, but communication delay and reliability However, none of them met Mr. Lange's required level.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lange met 'Next DNS'. NextDNS has its own AS and its servers are located all over the world, so it can communicate with low latency anywhere in the world. Also, it seems that Mr. Lange has been satisfied with the reliability of NextDNS for three months since he started using NextDNS.

It is said that it is meaningful to encrypt a series of communication by DNS with

DoH or DoT at the present when the confidentiality of communication is exclaimed . NextDNS supports DoH and DoT on major OS such as iOS, Android and Windows.

Lange runs the server himself and built a resolver with Unbound . Therefore, it was necessary to transfer the name resolution request to NextDNS, but it was possible to use NextDNS simply by adding a few lines of setting items to Unbound. He didn't even need to install NextDNS on his server.

NextDNS can be used more conveniently by setting it from the web screen, Lange said. One of the major features of NextDNS, 'Tracker and advertisement blocking function', can also be performed on the web screen. In addition to being able to control communication by whitelist and blacklist, prepare a domain name that closely resembles the existing domain name to prevent typosquatting aimed at erroneous access due to typos or block specific sites It is also possible to set parental control.

Also, if log acquisition is enabled on the web screen, it is possible to display the access analysis screen based on the log. You can check the blocked domain name and the reason for each device. According to NextDNS's access analysis, Lange sends about 500,000 DNS queries per month.

Regarding privacy, NextDNS also participated in

Firefox 's reliable resolver program and commented, 'We will contribute to data retention and business transparency that respects user privacy.'

Firefox announces partnership with NextDNS, a secure and customizable DNS-GIGAZINE

Regarding the price, NextDNS is simple, says Span. NextDNS is completely free during the beta version and will process up to 300,000 DNS queries for free after the official release. With the free plan, functions such as ad blocking will not be available after 300,000 cases, but the functions of DNS itself can still be used. It seems that it will not be completely unavailable unless you switch to a paid plan.

'NextDNS is my new favorite DNS service,' said Lange.